JP2002033157A - Plug fixing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and positively plug and unplug a plug in and from a plug inserting port. SOLUTION: A protrusion 15 is provided in the plug 2 to be connected by insertion to the plug inserting port 1. A rotary lever 13 engaged to the protrusion 15 is provided in a periphery of the plug inserting port 1, and in this state, it presses against a rear part of the protrusion 15 for applying a force in a plugging direction to the plug 2 when turned in a normal direction and it presses against a front part of the protrusion 15 for applying a force in an unplugging direction to the plug 2 when rotated in an opposite direction. The rotary lever 13 is driven by a motor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plug fixing device which is useful when, for example, an electric connection plug such as a charging plug of a battery-operated forklift is inserted into or removed from a plug insertion port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery-operated forklift uses a battery as a power source to perform a traveling operation and a cargo handling operation.
Charging work for the mounted battery is required at appropriate intervals. When charging the battery, as shown in FIG. 3, a plug 2 for charging, which is extended from an AC power source, is inserted into a plug insertion port 1 attached to the body of the forklift.
Is manually inserted by a worker, and the terminal 3 on the plug insertion port 1 side and the terminal (not shown) on the plug 2 side are electrically connected to perform charging.

[0003]

However, as described above, in the prior art, the operator manually inserts the plug 2 into the plug insertion port 1 at the time of charging, so that charging is started with insufficient insertion. There was a risk. Further, when the plug 2 is pulled out from the plug insertion port 1, it is difficult to pull out the plug 2, so that the wire may be pulled out and an excessive force may be applied to the wire.

[0004] In order to solve this problem, the present applicant has proposed a charging plug in which the plug can be inserted with a small force by sandwiching the plug between a pair of rollers driven by a motor (see JP-A-8-88048). Conventional example). However, in this conventional example, since the plug is sandwiched between a pair of rollers, each roller is easily slipped with respect to the plug, and the mounting position accuracy of each roller is required, so that there is room for improvement. .

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a plug fixing device that can easily and reliably insert and remove a plug from a plug insertion port.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a projection is provided on a plug which is inserted and connected to a plug insertion port, and the projection is engaged with the projection around the plug insertion port, and the plug is engaged with the projection. By rotating in the direction, the rear part of the projection is pressed to apply a force in the insertion direction to the plug, and by being rotated in the opposite direction, the front part of the projection is pressed to the plug. It is characterized in that a turning lever for applying a force in the pulling-out direction is provided.

In the present invention, when the rotating lever is rotated in the forward direction with the plug set in the plug insertion slot, the rotating lever presses the rear portion of the projection of the plug, and the force in the insertion direction is applied to the plug. Is given. Therefore, the plug can be easily inserted into the plug insertion port to an appropriate position (a position where the electrical connection can be reliably performed) by using the force alone or using the force as the assist force. Also, when the rotating lever is rotated in the opposite direction while the plug is inserted into the plug insertion slot, the rotating lever presses the front part of the projection of the plug and applies a pulling force to the plug. I do. Therefore, the plug can be easily pulled out from the plug insertion port by using the force alone or by using the force as the assisting force.

Further, according to the present invention, the sliding of each roller with respect to the plug and the necessity of mounting each roller with high precision are eliminated as compared with the conventional example in which the plug is sandwiched by a pair of rollers.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an electric actuator for driving the rotary lever is provided.

According to the present invention, when the rotary lever is rotated in the forward direction by the electric actuator in a state where the plug is inserted into the plug insertion port, the rotary lever presses the rear portion of the projection, and the plug is inserted into the plug in the insertion direction. Give power. Therefore, the plug can be easily inserted to an appropriate position with respect to the plug insertion port only by the force of the electric actuator or by receiving the assisting force of the electric actuator. When the rotating lever is rotated in the opposite direction by the electric actuator while the plug is inserted into the plug insertion slot, the rotating lever presses the front part of the projection of the plug, and the plug is pulled out in the pulling direction. Give power. Therefore, the plug can be easily pulled out from the plug insertion port only by the force of the electric actuator or by receiving the assisting force of the electric actuator.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are configuration diagrams of a plug fixing device according to an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a side view, and FIG. 1B is a diagram of a plug insertion port viewed from the front. In addition, FIG.
(C) is a schematic side view showing step by step the operation when inserting the plug into the plug insertion opening.

A vertically long rectangular plug insertion port 1
For example, it is mounted so as to protrude from a frame 10 on the vehicle body side such as a forklift, and upper and lower sides around the plug insertion port 1 are supported by brackets 11 protruding from the frame 10, respectively, so that a rotating lever is provided. 13 is attached so as to be vertically rotatable by a rotating shaft 12. A rotating shaft 21 of a motor (electric actuator) 20 is connected to the rotating shaft 12 via a coupling 17.
Are connected, and by driving the motor 20,
The rotation lever 13 can be rotated in the forward direction (the direction approaching the plug insertion port 1 in the figure) and the reverse direction (the direction away from the plug insertion port 1 in the figure).

The pivot levers 13 engage with projections 15 provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the plug 2 and have a groove 15C in which the projection 15 fits. A front contact portion 15A,
And has a rear contact portion 15B corresponding to the rear portion of the vehicle.

When the rotating lever 13 is rotated in the forward direction in a state of being engaged with the projection 15 of the plug 2, the rear portion 13B pushes the rear portion of the projection 15 forward,
A force in the insertion direction can be applied to the plug 2. On the contrary, when the plug 2 is turned in the opposite direction, the front part of the projection 15 is pressed rearward by the front contact portion 13 </ b> A to pull out the plug 2 in the pulling direction. Power can be applied.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. First, in an initial state before the plug 2 is inserted into the plug insertion port 1, the rotating lever 13 is at a position where it is lifted forward as shown in FIG. When the plug 2 is to be inserted into the plug insertion port 1 in this state, the projection 15 of the plug 2 passes without hitting the rear contact portion 13B of the rotating lever 13 and hits the front contact portion 13A. Then, from the stage where the plug 2 is applied to the front contact portion 13A,
As shown in (b), when the plug 2 is pushed down to a position where the rotation lever 13 is slightly rotated, a switch (not shown) of the motor 20 is automatically turned on, and the motor 20 starts normal rotation and starts rotating. The moving lever 13 rotates in the forward direction.

Then, the rear contact portion 13 of the rotating lever 13
B corresponds to the rear portion of the projection 15, and the rear contact portion 13B
2 is pressed forward, and the plug 2 is inserted to a position where the plug 2 is completely fitted into the plug insertion port 1 as shown in FIG. At this time, the plug 2 may be completely inserted into the plug insertion port 1 only by the force of the motor 20, or the plug 2 may be manually inserted into the plug insertion port 1 by using the force of the motor 20 as an assisting force. In any case, the plug 2 can be easily and reliably inserted to a sufficient insertion position. When the insertion to the complete insertion position is completed, the switch (not shown) of the motor 20 is automatically turned off, and the rotation of the rotation lever 13 stops. Therefore, charging can be started in this state.

In order to automatically switch on the motor 20 when the plug 2 has been inserted to some extent, the rotating lever 13 can rotate to some extent in the play. 2A is urged by a spring or the like to the position shown in FIG.
It is structurally necessary that the motor 20 is slightly rotated to the position shown in FIG. 2B when pressed by the button, and the motor 20 is turned on by the slight rotation.

On the other hand, when pulling out the plug 2 from the fully inserted state shown in FIG. 2C, the motor 20
To reverse. Then, the rotation lever 13 rotates in the reverse direction, and the front contact portion 13A of the rotation lever 13 pushes the front portion of the projection 15 of the plug 2 backward, and pulls the plug 2 away from the plug insertion port 1. Also in this case, the plug 2 may be manually pulled out using the force of the motor 20 as the assist force. In any case, the plug 2 can be easily pulled out.

The motor 20 may be controlled by a manual switch. For example, when the plug 2 is set at the position shown in FIG. 2B, the switch of the motor 20 is manually turned on, so that the motor 20 is rotated.
The plug 2 may be inserted by the rotating lever 13, and the switch may be automatically or automatically turned off when it is confirmed that the plug 2 has been completely inserted. In this case, the switch of the motor 20 is also used as a charge start switch,
If the actual charging start timing is slightly delayed after the switch is turned on, only one operation is required.

2 (a) and 2 (b) in order to determine the initial position (the position shown in FIG. 2 (a)) and the final operation position (the position shown in FIG. 2 (c)) of the rotating lever 13. As shown in c), it is desirable to provide stoppers 31 and 32 for defining the rotation range of the rotation lever 13.

Alternatively, by using a stepping motor as the motor 20, the initial position and the final operation position may be stored in the control device.

The rotary lever 13 may be rotated by an electric cylinder instead of the motor 20. It is also possible to provide an operation unit using a lever so that the rotation lever 13 can be manually turned.

In the above-described example, the case where the present invention is applied to a forklift charging device has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a charging device for other vehicles or the like, and an electric connection plug other than the charging plug is inserted. It can also be applied to a structure that is connected to the mouth.

[0024]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the plug can be inserted into and removed from the plug insertion port by operating the rotating lever that engages with the projection provided on the plug. When plugging in, you can easily and securely insert the plug to the correct position,
The plug can be easily pulled out when the plug is pulled out. Therefore, charging in an insufficiently inserted state can be prevented, and unnecessary careless force is not applied to the electric wires. Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sliding of each roller with respect to the plug and the necessity of mounting each roller with high accuracy are eliminated as compared with the conventional example in which the plug is sandwiched by a pair of rollers.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rotary lever is rotated by the electric actuator, the plug can be easily connected only by the force of the electric actuator or by receiving the assisting force of the electric actuator. It can be inserted and removed from the plug outlet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a side view showing a state where a plug is completely inserted into an insertion port,
(B) is the figure which looked at the plug insertion port from the front.

FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c) show the apparatus of the embodiment;
It is a schematic side view which shows operation | movement at the time of inserting a plug in a plug insertion port in order.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional plug insertion method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plug insertion port 2 Plug 13 Rotating lever 15 Projection 20 Motor (electric actuator)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A projection is provided on a plug that is inserted and connected to a plug insertion port. The projection is engaged with the projection around the plug insertion port, and is rotated in the forward direction in that state. A turning lever that presses a rear portion to apply a force in the insertion direction to the plug, and that is turned in the opposite direction to press a front portion of the projection to apply a force in a pulling direction to the plug. A plug fixing device characterized by being provided. 2. The plug fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising an electric actuator for driving the rotating lever.